General Features

Overview

Invisible.

Lyric is placed entirely inside the ear canal by a Lyric trained hearing care professional. Thanks to its unique placement, Lyric remains completely invisible from the outside and allows people to enjoy their hearing again. And no matter how close someone gets, Lyric remains invisible.

Effortless.

Lyric is placed close to the eardrum and takes advantage of the ear’s natural anatomy to minimize background noise and to deliver natural sound quality. What’s more, wearing Lyric is so effortless your patients just might forget they are wearing a hearing aid - there are no batteries to change, no maintenance is needed and no daily insertion or removal is required.

24/7.

Lyric is worn 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for months at a time. It can be worn during all daily activities - such as showering, talking on the phone, exercising, using headphones and even at night while sleeping.

New generation Lyric2 now available

Lyric2 offers a 50% higher anatomical fit rate*. The device is smaller and shorter than the previous Lyric hearing aid.

An ear canal length of 20mm is now required instead of 24mm.

The device is available in two additional sizes, so it can also be fitted in ear canals with a considerably smaller or larger diameter.

The new, oval shape of the device mirrors the shape of the ear canal.

Lyric2 is no longer specific to one side and can be used in either the left or the right ear. The number of different device versions has therefore been reduced by 50%.

Lyric offers you an innovative business model

Lyric by subscription

With its unique positioning deep in the ear canal, Lyric represents a whole new product category. This calls for a new fitting process as well as a special business model: for the first time ever, the specially developed battery technology has helped to create a hearing aid that can be worn without interruption for up to four months. The integration of the battery in the device guarantees minimal energy use. When the battery expires, the device is removed and replaced with a new device. Lyric is thus ideally suited for selling by subscription.

More patients

Lyric appeals to a new patient base that other hearing aids have failed to penetrate in the past. This patient group is considerably younger, often in the prime of their lives. In addition, a substantial number of longstanding users of other hearing aids appear to be enthusiastic about and won over by the clear advantages that Lyric has to offer.

More sales opportunities

If Lyric is not the right solution for your patients, due to contraindications or because the model does not suit them, this offers you the perfect chance to inform your patients about other hearing aids available from Phonak. This will open up additional opportunities for you to generate more sales, to patients who would otherwise not have sought your help at all, or at least not until much later.

Features & Benefits

Lyric Hearing is the breakthrough in hearing technology you’ve been waiting for: the first and only 100% invisible extended wear hearing solution designed specifically to meet your patients needs. Developed by ENT physicians and audiologists, Lyric was built around three key concepts that hearing professionals have known for years:

Sound quality improves with proximity to the tympanic membrane.

Many people with hearing loss are dissatisfied with their hearing options.

Patients desire a hassle-free, invisible solution.

How Lyric Works

Lyric technology features:

Biocompatible soft foam seals engineered to contour to the ear canal; safe to wear 24/7, months at a time*

Proprietary mechanical and coating technologies developed to protect the device from moisture and cerumen

A proprietary battery designed to last up to 120 days

A programmable sound processing system designed to work millimeters from the tympanic membrane and allow for both microphone and receiver placement deep in the ear canal

*Replacement needs may vary. Duration of device battery life varies by patient and is subject to individual ear conditions.

Lyric Sound Quality

Unlike other hearing devices, Lyric is placed deep into the bony portion of the ear canal so that the receiver resides approximately 4 mm from the tympanic membrane and the microphone is ≥4 mm from the opening of the ear canal (posterior meatus). This placement deep in the ear canal provides a number of sound quality benefits.

Additional Lyric system technology:

Lyric HandFit®: A wireless programming system that allows for quick and easy customizable device programming based on a patient’s specific hearing loss

Lyric SoundLync®: A magnetic adjustment tool that allows the patient to adjust device volume, turn the device on and off and put the device in sleep mode, and remove the device if needed.

Patient Benefits

100% invisible

No one will see the source of a Lyric® wearer's improved hearing. Unlike traditional hearing devices, Lyric is small and placed in the ear canal, making it totally invisible. Lyric allows wearers to enjoy the benefits of better hearing without anyone ever knowing they’re using a hearing device.

Effortless hearing, 24/7

With Lyric, patients can forget the hassles of traditional hearing aids. Lyric allows patients to hear 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for months at a time.* Patients can use Lyric during their daily activities, such as sleeping, showering, exercising, using external headphones, and talking on the phone. There are no batteries to change, no maintenance is needed, and no daily insertion and removal are required. Lyric is a hearing solution that lets people live their life day to day without constantly being reminded of their hearing loss.

Natural placement, natural sound

Lyric is designed to take advantage of the ear’s anatomy. Uniquely designed and placed, Lyric works with the ear’s anatomy to deliver exceptional sound quality. Lyric uses the outer ear to naturally direct sound into the ear canal without the need for multiple settings or complicated programs.

The exterior of Lyric is made of a soft material specifically designed to contour to the ear canal. Lyric is comfortably placed in the ear canal during a typical office visit. Lyric trained hearing professionals work together to ensure Lyric is fitted and adjusted specifically for people's individual ears and hearing needs. Once patients are wearing Lyric, they can still adjust the volume if needed, and turn the device(s) on and off.

*Replacement needs may vary. Duration of device battery life varies by patient and is subject to individual ear conditions.

Fitting

Sizing & Fitting Lyric

Lyric® is a device designed for same-day office fittings. Lyric devices come in specific sizes that are designed to fit a range of ear canal widths. Practices offering Lyric will be stocked with initial quantities of each size of Lyric device. Offices are also supplied with Lyric-specific sizing kits and insertion tools that will allow trained hearing professionals to measure a person's ear canal for candidacy and size.

Once the ear canal has been measured and determined adequate in size, a device is selected and is custom programmed for the client using the wireless Lyric HandFit® programming system. After programming, the Lyric device is placed in the ear canal at the measured insertion depth using the Lyric slider forceps and then turned on. After the devices are placed, wearers are counseled on their new devices. If needed, the device program can be adjusted with the HandFit system while Lyric is in the ear. Patients are provided with the SoundLync™ adjustment tool to adjust the volume, turn the device on and off, put the device in sleep mode (which returns hearing to non-amplified level), and remove the device if needed.

Why offer Lyric?

Lyric Hearing – Meeting the Needs of Your Patients

Lyric is designed to address several issues people associate with wearing hearing aids:

“They make me look old.”

“I don’t want to be reminded daily that I have a hearing problem.”

“Hearing through a hearing aid does not sound natural.”

Benefits to you

Lyric is the first and only 100% invisible extended wear hearing device. Lyric can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for months at a time, so wearers do not need to remove the device or make adjustments. Unlike many other hearing devices, Lyric is positioned completely inside the ear canal, so it uses the ear’s anatomy to provide natural sound quality. Lyric lets people hear better and live life to the fullest.

Attract new patients – Because Lyric is completely invisible and can be used 24/7 for months at a time, it will attract people who have not purchased hearing aids in the past, as well as people who are unhappy with their current hearing solution.

Differentiate your practice – Offering Lyric will help differentiate your practice from other hearing healthcare providers in your area. Lyric is like no other hearing device on the market, and consumers will come to your office specifically to purchase this device.

Lyric was launched commercially in January 2007. Lyric has been extensively studied in hundreds of clinical research patients since 2001.

What type of hearing loss does Lyric address?

Lyric is designed to fit people with mild to moderately severe hearing loss. The hearing loss may be sensorineural, conductive or mixed as long as there are no other contraindications.

What are the contraindications?

Lyric is not appropriate for all people. At this time, approximately 50% of people are contraindicated for the following reasons:

Geometry/anatomy of the ear canal

Certain medical conditions

Lifestyle

Degree/configuration of hearing loss

What is the device made of?

The device consists of a microphone, receiver, sound processing circuitry and battery that are surrounded by biocompatible soft foam seals engineered to contour to the ear canal.

Is the device digital or analog?

Lyric is a digitally programmable analog hearing device. Its design and placement reduces feedback and occlusion and allows the natural acoustics of the pinna, concha and ear canal to work normally for improved sound quality while requiring less output. With both the microphone and receiver located deep in the ear canal, sophisticated digital processing is not necessary. The benefit of an analog system is that it provides a clean signal and allows for a long battery life.

What are the programmable parameters?

Lyric has the following five programmable parameters:

Gain/Volume (Vol) -6 settings in 3 dB steps

Max Volume (set according to user’s needs)

Low Frequency Cut (LFC) -7 settings, ranging from 200 Hz to 2 kHz

Soft Level Gain (SLG) -4 settings in 4 dB steps

High Frequency Boost (HFB) on or off with a 4-7 dB increase at 4.5 kHz

What is the frequency range?

Lyric operates in the extended frequency range of 200 to 8000 Hz.

Who can place the device in the ear?

Lyric can only be placed by Lyric trained hearing professionals.* At a patient's initial visit, the Lyric trained hearing professional evaluates the ear, sizes for Lyric, and places the device(s). Follow-up visits occur periodically when the device battery is depleted; the hearing professional removes the old device and replaces it with a new device.

How often do patients come in for new devices?

Lyric can be worn for up to 120 days at a time. Patients return to their Lyric trained hearing professional’s office for replacement visits. The frequency of individual replacement needs may vary.

How long does sizing, placing and programming Lyric take?

Sizing, placing and programming Lyric, along with new patient counseling, takes approximately one hour.

Device replacement visits take approximately 10 minutes.

How is the device programmed?

Lyric is programmed using the wireless HandFit® programming system provided by Phonak, LLC.

Can patients take the Lyric Hearing Device out?

Lyric can be self-removed if necessary. Clients are provided with a removal tool.

Can a patient adjust the volume or settings?

Once Lyric is placed, patients control the volume and settings with the SoundLync™ adjustment tool. The adjustment tool consists of a special magnet that wearers can attach to a keychain (the magnet is not much larger than a key).

If a patient wants to swim and/or dive, should the device be taken out first?

Diving of any kind is not recommended while wearing Lyric due to pressure changes experienced when diving that my shift the device and cause discomfort, trauma, and/or feedback. Complete submersion of Lyric underwater is not recommended. It is okay to be in a pool, but we do not recommend submerging the hearing devise underwater.

How does cerumen affect the device?

Lyric has proprietary mechanical and coating technologies designed to help protect the device from moisture and cerumen. When a device is removed, often much of the accumulated cerumen is removed along with it. When a patient is fit with a new device, his/her ear is inspected and cerumen is removed if needed.

How do patients purchase Lyric?

Lyric is purchased through a Lyric-trained hearing professional's office and is sold on a subscription basis. One, two or three year subscriptions are available.

*ENT physicians, audiologists or hearing aid dispensers who have completed all training required by Phonak to be deemed Lyric Qualified Professionals.